By Jayne Hugo Davis “In whatever place you find yourself, do not easily leave it.” — Abba Antony I love finding tiny volunteer maple saplings around my yard. They spring up between the bushes in the landscaping bed or behind…
Love already won
My grandmother, Eva Mae Thomas, was my first catechizer and theologian. At the age of 12, she put a pen and notepad in my hand and asked me to “write down all the Scriptures that the preacher says.” There were…
Adult coloring books emerging as popular spiritual practice
By Jeff Brumley Coloring as a spiritual practice has made the news recently. Yes, that’s “coloring” as in coloring books, crayons, colored pens and pencils, etc. Ditto for drawing, sketching and doodling as religious activities. In fact, one person told…
Looking forward with faith
Faith is awe in the face of mystery. – Rudolf Otto We gazed silently alongside an uncountable amount of people. The oddity was not in the differences of those of us present but in the symmetry of what we all…
Larger than the Church
By Starlette McNeill “If you are without a church home, then we invite you to come forward at this time.” This is the invitation that is extended in most, if not all, congregations after the delivery of the sermon. Having…
How toasts around the table bring surprising blessings among foreigners
That which we give makes us richer, that which is hoarded is lost. ~Shota Rustaveli, 12th Century Georgian poet Boredom was on the faces of the university students as they, their professor, a pastor and I waited in the stuffy…
Baptist minister, children pioneer sacred arts camp concept
By Jeff Brumley Michael Sciretti, it turns out, has this thing for the tabernacle described in Exodus and how it parallels the creation account in Genesis. And he’s convinced the symbolism of it all contains an abundance of spiritual experiences…
7 things I (re)discovered on sabbatical
C.S. Lewis once said that most of us don’t need to be told new things, but rather reminded of old truths. This has certainly been true in my own journey these past few months. On June 1, I entered into…
The spiritual practice of listening
By Jayne Hugo Davis When two of my sisters asked me what I wanted as a gift for my 50th birthday, I told them a collection of family stories — their personal recollections of family history, anecdotes or folly that,…